Quick thoughts about a 78-71 loss to the state of Michigan:
How did this happen: It looked like Indiana could run the state of Michigan right after Branch McCracken Court on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans were unable to handle the ball early and Indiana hit the ball for Trayce Jackson-Davis. By the 11:15 mark of the first half, Indiana led by 19-6. But the Hoosiers did not step in and took the lead even further, as the state of Michigan began to gain some offensive confidence. By the 2:52 mark, Michigan State tied the game on a jumper Aaron Henry. Indiana ended the semester with four final points and led 30-26 at the break, but it seemed that the Hoosiers missed the opportunity to have a lot more breathing space in the locker room. The Hoosiers looked clean, but were only 2 in 10 against 3 in the first half.
To start the second half, Indiana returned to Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. The pair scored Indiana’s first eight points in the interval, while IU increased the lead to nine in 38-29. Michigan State quickly returned in five, but Indiana punched back to 10 in a Armaan Franklin 3-point and Thompson kick. Michigan, however, had an answer. The Spartans closed the margin to four at 48-44 due to the media timeout for children under 12 in a score of 3 by Gabe Brown. Michigan State reached 50-49 in a 3-point Joshua Langford and then drew 52 at Langford’s 3-point play with 9:03 to play. Michigan State took its first lead in an Aaron Henry runner in 54-52 and extended to five in a 3-point Gabe Brown at the 7:56 mark. Indiana never regained the lead when the Hoosiers lost their fifth conference game at home.
Featured Performer: Jackson-Davis was unstoppable for Indiana, finishing with 34 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes.
Stands that stand out: Indiana’s defense was terrible in the second half, with Michigan State making 52 points with 56.7 percent of field shots. After scoring just 0.81 points per trip in the first half, the Spartans exploded to 1.49 points per trip in the second half.
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
Filed for: Michigan State Spartans